Meet Annette Ornelas of Southwind Designs

 I've cruised and learned with Annette twice now and, man oh man, does it keep getting better!

Last year I went on a quilting cruise through Quilt and Cruise (Dawn Olmstead) with Annette as the teacher. We went to St Maarten, St Kitts, and San Juan PR. It was so wonderful that we booked another cruise for this year - same dates, same cruise line, same terrific teacher - but different ports.

This year - just a week ago actually, I joined the same friends and Annette for another week of sailing and sewing bliss. The ABC Islands (Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao) were our destination this time.

Most of Annette's patterns use a very clever technique that takes advantage of the bias edge of folded squares and rectangles. After becoming part of a block, these bias edges are then folded back and top stitched down to produce a smooth, gentle curve.

Last year we made "As You Wish" and this year "Mexican Star Dance". Both patterns have this fold and stitch technique that make them really interesting.

Annette also has lots of fun small designs for wall hangings and table runners.  Many of the cute little designs are cruise or inspiring words themed. I'm putting in an order with her so that I can offer her pattrns in my booth are the KC Regional Festivan in June. As soon as I finish Mexican Star Im goihng to start the Flamingo and Victorian Table Runner. There are so many cute ones it's tough to choose! I also just signed up her 2023 Mystery BOM. Can we say excited!

Do yourself na favor and check out Annette's website. If you have the opportunity to take a workshop with her, then please do. I'll be adding a class on one of her pattterns to my workshop list - but its better to get the real deal!

Curiousity on the High Seas!

Sedona QAL Block 3 - Desert Bloom -

 

Each Block just gets prettier and prettier. This one is my fave so far.
Each block is made of 4 "petals" - smaller units that go togethr fairly quickly.

There are a couple of things that you need to pay attention to. 

The first trouble spot is when you trim off the points on the background pieces. Its important to get the angle correct otherwise  you won't be able to properly cut the curve on this background piece. You should be trimming perpendicular to the short side. It is so easy to get it wrong and trim perpendicular to the hypotenus (remember HS Geometry?). If you trim them correctly, you will have no trouble completing the next step and cutting the curve out.

The next few steps just require following the directions. Easy-Peasy. Remember not to pull your peices as you are sewing the curves.

The next place where you need to pay attention is when you are squaring up the units. If you don't have 1/4 inch from the "petal" to the seam of the triangle on the corners, it won't match when  you sew the 4 petals together. Its more important to be exact on the center triangle (The dark green in this pic) than to be exact on the background triangle.

When you sew the 4 units together you'll want to match the seams of those triangles - see the center of the flower in this photo.

Overall it was a fun block, if a little fiddley to get the seams to match. 

This is the third block, so its not too late to join the QAL. 




 

Sedona Block 2 - Stepping Stones

 Block 2 of Sedona is a cinch! Cutting strips. Sewing strip sets. Cutting strip sets into 2 inch pieces. Sewing 2 inch pieces into blocks. Done!

As usual, though, I have some tips. 

First - it you are doing Sedona Sky, you'll need to either get 1 inch more than the half yard called for, or you'll have to use some of the left over strip set fabric. Its doable, but if you don't want to worry about it, just get an additional inch or so.

Second - use your favorite starch product on either the strips or strip sets before you subcut them.

Third - reduce your stitch length when you sew your strips together. Since you'll be subcutting these into 2 inch units, your stitches may unravel a bit, so its best to use a tighter stitch. I almost always do this for strip sets that will be subcut.

Forth - if you are making the Sedona Medallion, it uses the same amount of fabric as Sedona Sky. 

Two down!

Woven Wanderings

 Many of my quilt designs and patterns are quite complicated, with many peices and involved techniques. So I thought I should design a quilt that is simple to make, has just one block, and is perfcect for beginning quilters. Woven Wanderings fits the bill!

The block that makes up this quilt is one that I've made many times for block exchanges. It looked very cool on its own. I started wonderibng how it would look repeated over and over again.  So I made several of them and really liked how the pattern took shape. The problem was that there were too many seams to match. I wouldn't want to attempt matching that many, and it certinaly wasn't appropriate for a beginning quilter.

So, ever curious, I began playing with the block to see if I could achieve the same look without the matching. And of course there was another way.  However, this block required one additional simple technique - partial seams.

I've made the quilt in two colorways and I think the results are pretty darn cute! This pattern is a great way to feature a pretty fabric - either in the woven strips or in the background. I've done this in each of the samples I've done.

I am so excited to share this pattern with you. I hope to use it to teach beginning quilting, and I think it will make a really cute lap quilt. Woven Wanderings is available on my Etsy Shop and at the Kansas City Regional Quilt Festival in Overland Park in June of 2023. If you make it, let me know and send some pictures.

Cheers!

GE Designs Ruler Stickers

 Who knew such as little thing could be such a big help? Gudrun did!

As I get older, I find myself double checking the lines on my rulers and more often than I'd like to admit, I still make mistakes. The one thing that helps is Gudrun's ruler stickers.

These repositional vinyl arrow stickers are a great tool for marking lines on quilting rulers, marking landmarks on QCR rulers when trumming the curved units for Sew Kind of Wonderful patterns, and marking the grooves on the GE Designs stripology rulers. 

The Sedona pattern has many opportunities to use these clever little stickers. Here is how I marked my QCR mini ruler for the Slide Rock Block. 

The stickers are available on my Etsy site, on GE Designs website, from your local quilt shop, or from Amazon. Check 'em out. I think you'll love them!

Cheers!

Ch

Fuzzy Leprechaun

 I thought I might branch out a bit this month and venture into the area of adult beverages. I was looking for something that might be appropriate for a Saint Patricks Day celebration. 

I found this delicious cocktail and am very anxious to try it. A few special ingredients that I don't normally keep in the liquor cabinet are on the shopping list. 

Here is the recipe:

• 1 part Peach Schnapps
• 1 part Blue Curacao
• 1 part Vodka
• 1/2 part Orange Juice
• 1/2 part Pineapple Juice

Mix and pour over ice. Garnish with an orange slice and cherry.

I'm planning on bringing the ingredients to the March Retreat and making it for everyone. 

My New Travel and Sewing Buddy - Meet Abbie

 After years without a furry friend, I took a leap of faith and adopted Abbie. I had the vision of a quilting and travel buddy - a four footed best friend to keep me company on the road. Abbie has quickly become a member of the family and I'm so happy she is here.

We are still getting used to her potty schedule - the cold weather has put a bit of a cramp in her style. But she's learning the rules pretty quickly.

She is somewhat fascinated with my shoes. No chewing, just bringing them out. In any given day she might bring 5 shoes out. 

She loves her bed, her toys, and meeting new
quilters. I brought Abbie on her first road trip down to Oklahoma City to visit the Central Oklahoma Quilt Guild last week. She did well in the car and hotel and was invited to join the workshop. 

We've been walking everyday - so she is helping me be a little more active. Next week the fence will be completed and she can run around the yard to her hearts content. We have 7 doggie neighbors - she seems to like them all.

So I'll apologize now for being an insufferable doggie mama - posting pics and talking non-stop about Abbie.  Look for my future  adventures to contain Miss Abbie.

Curious about adopting a furry friend? Contact your local Humane Society!

Designer Profile - Joan Ford

 I was first drawn to Joan Ford because of her Scrap Therapy books. I loved the idea of taming the mountain of scraps I had accumulated. Little did I know, until I took a quilt cruise with her, that she is a woman of many talents.

Her company is called Hummingbird Highway and has a definite bird theme. Lately her main focus has been on lazar cut, pieced bird patterns that she calls "The Flock".  These bird blocks (over 60 of them!) are perfect for birders - they are so incredibly cleverly designed and delightful. 

Joan is a perfectionist when it counts - matching points, using glue to help piece bias edges without that pesky slippage that normally happens, and lazar cutting the fabric for us so that everything fits together perfectly. As a teacher, she is organized, methodical,  informative, supportive and very humorous. Our group was divided into two room and she handled the back and forth between the two rooms like the pro that she is.

The design she did for the cruise was beautiful. It worked great as a
mystery.  We worked on small components  - no one could tell what the design was going to be until the assembly directions were passed out and the final reveal was done. We "oohed and awwed" over the striking quilt. 

I would definitely take another workshop from Joan. I'm also about to order some bird patterns. I think you should too!

Curious about the Flock? Fly over to Hummingbird-Highway and check it out!

 

Sedona Block 1 - Slide Rock

 I love this first motif. In addition to a cool row type block, it would make a very interesting border. Individually the blocks look like tulips. I can envision it in pink and green. 

In this post I'm going to add some tips and thought that arose as I was making the slide Rock motif. This is not meant to replace the pattern - you must have the pattern to participate in the QAL. 'Nough said.

First some general thoughts - these notes apply to all the motifs.

1. You probably should get some gripper dots for your ruler. I noticed some slippage with mine.

2. Cutting process for all the blocks – There are 3 different cutting processes, and each has its own accuracy level and ruler indicators.

• The first is to rough cut rectangles and squares according to the pattern for your step. In this case close (within 1/16^th) is good enough.

• 
  The second is to cut your curved pieces. For these, follow your pattern closely. In many cases you have to make a mark to use as a cutting reference. You can cut several at a time. Some are cut right side up and some are wrong side up. This is important. To do this I stack my fabric wrong side together. These cuts should be fairly accurate, but don't worry about perfection.   

• T
  The last cut requires precision. For this cut you will be trimming up your blocks. The pattern tells you where to mark your ruler – I use a sharpie. You could also use GE Designs repositionable arrows. On this cut you may find your points don’t match up to the dots on your ruler. Ideally you want all points to match the indicators on your ruler. If they don’t, get as close as you can on all points. In other words, don’t get one perfect and leave three totally off.

3. Sewing process for all the blocks. Since we will be trimming the blocks after sewing, reduce your stitch length so that the seams don’t start coming undone. Pay close attention to how you line up the pieces right sides together. I find I make fewer mistakes when I lay them how they will end up and then put them right sides tighter. Sometimes one of the pieces extends over the other .25 or .5 inches.  The amount varies with every seam so pay attention.

4. There is no need for pinning. Using both hands – one on each piece of fabric  - Bring the seam allowances together about an inch or less before it goes under the presser foot. Sew a quarter inch seam. The blocks will look wonky before you trim – don’t worry you probably haven’t made a mistake. If you machine has a hover mode (presser foot comes up when you stop sewing) it’s a good idea to engage that feature as you sew the curves. You can stop and realign your fabric very easily that way.

5. Pay attention to which direction to press – again, it varies with every motif.

Block 1 Specifics

•     Sedona Sky - Make 18
•     Sedona Trails - Make 21
•     Sedona Medallion - Make 12 (I would use fabric amount indicated for Sky. You’ll have a bit extra)

1.  Remember – cut half right side up and half right side down.

2.  Be careful when you cut your background fabric in Step 3 - the rectangles are 4” x 4.5” and could easily be turned the wrong direction. Make sure they are oriented correctly – the shorter side facing you and the longer side going away from you.

3.  Pattern says you’ll need 3 strips of the background fabric for Sedona Sky. I think you’ll need 4 strips, but cut 3 first and see if you need the forth one. I did need it.

4. Ensure your “extension” amount is correct. Extension is the amount that the top piece extends over the bottom piece. Its usually .25 or .5 inches. It varies with every block, so pay attention.

5.  Sewing the individual blocks together takes some precision to get your points just right. Pin and take your time.

Curious about the Sedona QAL? Check it out here.

Saul's Crepes

 I thought February would be a great month to share my sweet Saul's crepe recipe. Make them for brunch if you like, but we had them for dinner!

Saul’s Crepes (makes about 4-5 crepes)

1 cup all-purpose flour

2 eggs

½ cup milk

½ cup water

¼ t salt

2T melted butter

In a large mixing bowl, whish together the flour and eggs. Gradually add the milk and water, stirring to combine until batter is sooth. Add salt and butter. combine well.

Heat a lightly oiled fry pan over medium heat. Pour about ¼ cup of the crepe batter into the pan and twirl the pan to spread the mixture thin. Cook for about 2 minutes on each side.

Fill with desired fruit and roll up. Or fold into quarters, and enjoy. Our family likes Nutella and strawberries or bananas.

Cheers!

Acorn Precision Piecing Seam Align Fabric Glue

I am being totally spoiled at the moment - I'm on a Hawaiian Quilting Cruise. I'll write more about the cruise and teacher in another post. But I do want to tell you about a helpful notion that the teacher introduced us to. I had seen it before, but never used it.

"It" is the Seam Align Fabric Glue by Acorn. It's a Canadian product, so it was a bit hard to find at first, but now many shops are carrying it. I will have it in my booth at the Kansas City Regional Quilt Festival in June as well as in my Etsy shop as soon as I get back from the cruise (1 February).

What makes this glue so great? Well, first the applicator is very small so it gives you great precision. You only need a tiny bit. It's repositionable until pressed with heat, and then its more lasting but still not permanent. It is perfectly safe for your machine as it dries once its activated with heat.

The only drawback I see is that it requires an additional step - the pressing. If you're like me and need a bit more exercise, then its not a drawback at all! 

For me, any drawbacks disappear when you look at the precision you get. Especially with bias seams. The block we are sewing on this cruise has bias seams everywhere. I started with pinning and was not getting my ends to match. The pieces were laser cut, so I couldn't blame my cutting. The bias pieces were stretching. Even using 3 to 4 pins on a 2.5 inch pieces wasn't doing it.

As soon as I started using the glue, all my pieces fit. Every time!

Here's the easy process - 

Apply just tiny dots within your seam allowance, about every quarter inch.

 

Align your second piece - starting at the ends first and pressing towards the middles with your fingers.

Press with heat to activate the glue. You can still pull it apart if you need to.

Sew as usual. 

Have you tried this miracle glue? What do you think? Let me know!

Always Curious!